The Mineral Rights Podcast: Mineral Rights | Royalties | Oil and Gas | Matt Sands

I'm really excited about this week's episode because we have two really interesting guests lined up for you. Kyle Chambers and Joey Falbo with Texas Quality Assurance LLC join Justin and I to teach us about quality management and why everyone needs to know what it is. In fact, Kyle and his wife Darci host a podcast called the #QualityMatters Podcast where they talk all about quality management and ways to make your life easier at work and at home.

This was a really interesting conversation as we dive deep into how quality management is really important when drilling a well. Joey tells a few stories from his experience working in the field around things like inspecting drilling equipment and why this is so critical in making sure a wells is drilled safely and on-time.

This is important to us as mineral owners because if the operator has an equipment failure that causes them to have to plug the well and it may never get repaired and completed. If the well never produces oil and gas, we don't get paid royalties.

Resources:

I had the pleasure of being a guest on the #QualityMatters Podcast in Episode 70 where we talk about the importance of Continuous Improvement during the downturn in the oil & gas industry and some of my experience with continuous improvement at Shell. Click the link above to give it a listen or listen on your favorite podcast player.

In this episode we provide a summary of the Appalachian Basin located in New York, Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, and West Virginia. Learn about the geology, history, the major operators who are drilling in the Marcellus and Utica Shales, and what the future may hold for this area if you have minerals or royalties here or are looking to invest in the basin.

In this month's Mineral Rights Podcast news episode for July 2020:

Colorado land board won't bid on Occidental's massive land, mineral rights sale | Exxon Mobil Resists Write-Downs as Oil, Gas Prices Plummet | Fracking trailblazer Chesapeake Energy becomes the biggest oil and gas bankruptcy of the pandemic

As always, you can go to mineralrightspodcast.com to find the links to these articles and other resources mentioned in this episode. To send us an article you would like us to cover in a future episode, please email [email protected]

In this episode, we give an update of a few of the notable companies that have filed bankruptcy in 2020 and where we will likely end up when it is all said and done. We also do a deep dive on the recent Extraction Oil and Gas bankruptcy, and give our prediction on three additional companies that we think will also file bankruptcy in 2020. Finally, we wrap it all up with a discussion about one company just announced a creative way that they are paying down debt to avoid bankruptcy while keeping the majority of their core assets intact. Check out the show notes for links to these stories and the Haynes and Boone, LLP Oil Patch Bankruptcy Monitor we discuss.

In this month's Mineral Rights Podcast news episode for June 2020:

Oil, gas companies not alone: Mineral rights owners facing squeeze from industry downturn | Tribe responds to Interior Department's river mineral rights opinion | Wind Energy Investment To Overtake Oil & Gas In 2022 In Europe

As always, you can go to mineralrightspodcast.com to find the links to these articles and other resources mentioned in this episode. To send us an article you would like us to cover in a future episode, please email [email protected]

This week Justin Williams and I speak with Liana Jones, an attorney with Lear & Lear, PLLC, to help us understand the ins and outs of title opinions. We discuss everything you need to know about title opinions including, the role of the title attorney, why operators need title opinions, the types of title opinions that are relevant to oil and gas, why royalty interests are put in suspense by an operator and why this is not necessarily a bad thing, and we also talk about some issues that can come up with title opinions and what you need to know as a mineral interest or royalty owner.

Ms. Jones' background is in natural resource law and transactional practice, with an emphasis on oil and gas title. Her primary interest pertains to public lands and complex title issues. In her spare time she enjoys outdoor recreational activities to include backpacking, cycling, skiing, and snowboarding. Her practice includes natural resources and public lands law with emphasis on mineral law, oil and gas law and litigation; complex title examinations; administrative hearings and appeals; public land law; and timber and logging law.

One way to make the most of our minerals and royalties is to make sure that we are making the right decisions to minimize tax liability. I'm not talking about skipping out on your taxes but by making sure that you are taking the right deductions and credits or by leveraging an alternate date when valuing your property for estate tax purposes. And that is what we are going to talk about today - using the alternate valuation date when it comes to estate taxes. To cover this sometimes overlooked concept, I brought back Rob Prentice with Turrett LLC. As you may remember, Rob appeared on Episode 32 of the Mineral Rights Podcast to talk about IRS mineral valuations for the purposes of setting a step-up in cost basis.

You may have read news articles recently about companies like Whiting Petroleum filing for bankruptcy. Unfortunately with oil prices in the $20 - $30/bbl range, many other companies may follow suit. In this episode, we talk about what an operator bankruptcy means for mineral and royalty owners as well as some actionable steps you can take to protect your interests. Click here to download a free resource guide with links to helpful articles and a checklist you can use.

The information contained in this episode is being shared for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this guide without seeking legal advice from counsel in the relevant jurisdiction.

Today Justin and I talk about reasons that operators may shut-in producing wells. From low oil prices to preventing issues like frac interference (we explain what this is and why this is a concern), this is topic that affects all royalty owners at some time. We also talk about some of the things to know about the shut-in royalty clause in most oil and gas leases.

We recorded this episode in December 2019 before the crash in crude oil prices. That said, these concepts are relevant regardless of the reason for shutting in production. In fact, this topic may be even more relevant today with the current price environment of $20-30/bbl for WTI crude oil, given many operators have shut-in production that is not economic to produce at these prices.

Also, in case you missed it, we also covered shut-in royalty payments in our recent conversation with Spencer Cox who is an attorney with Burns Charest, LLP. You can find that discussion in Episode 53 of the Mineral Rights Podcast. In that episode, we talk about negative royalties and also dive a bit deeper into some of the legal considerations around shut-in royalty payments in the current price environment.

Be sure to subscribe on iTunes and while you are there, please leave a review (or subscribe and review wherever you normally listen to the show). It only takes a minute and it really helps us out in gaining exposure so that other mineral and royalty owners can benefit from this information too.

In this month's Mineral Rights Podcast news episode for May 2020 we feature some thought provoking articles:

Owners see decline in offers for mineral rights | Pandemic crisis offers glimpse into oil industry's future | Texas Railroad Commission Will Consider An Oil Production Cut That Is Too Late To Matter

As always, you can go to mineralrightspodcast.com to find the links to these articles and other resources mentioned in this episode. To send us an article you would like us to cover in a future episode, please email [email protected]